Students Take Grand Prize at SUNYWide Film Festival

Buffalo State television and film arts (TFA) students Kraig Adams and Kyle Mecca took home the grand prize award for the short film Speechless at the 2012’s SUNYWide Film Festival.

Speechless, a film focusing on strong visuals accompanied by a powerful score, highlights the demise of an “ordinary” couple’s relationship, addressing topics such as fate, choice, and the gray areas along the way. Adams, director of photography, and Mecca, assistant director (among other roles), shot and released the film in mid-September. The film debuted at the Burchfield Penney Art Center’s Night of Premieres.

Mecca also placed third in the narrative category for his short film Tail, a fast-paced black and white film that follows a family man through a life-threatening car chase while trying to reach his wife in labor. Mecca wrote, produced, and directed Tail as a project for an upper-level TFA course, premiering at the TFA 450 Film Forum last spring.

Both Adams and Mecca are seniors at Buffalo State in the TFA program and are expected to graduate in May.

See the full list of film festival winners announced at the festival, hosted at the State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia on November 10.

Buffalo State's TFA program is a competitive degree offering which accepts just 15 students each year. Many aspiring screenwriters, producers, and directors have obtained internships at companies like Disney, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox, Bravo, and Cartoon Network through the program.

Applications to become a TFA major are now being accepted (Deadline: Friday, February 15, 2013).